Seed planter



SEED PLANTER I Original Filed Dec. 26, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet l y INVENTOR ERNST E. ENGLUND by, 5MB@ oct. 17,1944.

E. E. ENGLUND SEED PLANTER Original Filed De. 26, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 momma E. E ENGLUND SEED PLANTER oct. 17, 1944.4

4 sheets-sheet 5 Original Filed Dec. 26, 1941 Oct. 17, 1944. E. E. ENGLUND 2,360,319

` SEED PLANQTER Original Filed Dec. 26, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 A HE7 45 4 j EB 45 a5 a6 a? Q 41 4i Vf\ 81. I s w w w w Lr 'nv a5 Y o 'Q :n *55 o o 57 'I'I 6 o o /o n 'l5 8o luvcmon [Rust i. mamma BY '1u-M 35M.

Avokucvs n reel, depending next double row ol'. pianti Patented Oct. 17, 1944 v Emst E. England, Believu Ohio Cultivato ration of Ohio Original application 424,440. Divided e, Ohio, assignor to The r Co., Bellevue, Ohio, a corpo- December 26, 1941, Serial No. and this a 7, 1942, Serial No. 453,962

pplicatlon August Claims. (Cl. 111-44) The present invention relates to'farm-machinery, and more especially to corn planters.

This application is a division of my application Ser. No 424,440 filed Dec. 26, 1941 and entitled Seed planter.

Corn planters ofthe type-prior to thisinvention are quite bulky insze, due in no small part to the fact that the large' check wire reel is carcf the planter, thusrmaterially' the length and bulkA of the niac tion. 'I'here hine in that direcare many other disadvantages in es, for example, in the caseof the ere is rio-practical way in which e reel can be adjusted to accommodate the increase or decrease-of pull when the checkl wire is being wound on the reel o'r paid off the reel. And the absence ofv this -adjl'istment may cause undue strain to be placed on the check wire or cause'the wire to be loosely wound on the onthe specific windingV operation; In most types of earlier planters the changeover of the corn feedingrmechanismfrom check to hill. orto the drill type planters there is' often no provision made by which the corn is prevented from being dropped planter is moving across vate. The system of scoring or marking for the ng has not been alto'- obviasiy und if the ground were hard, the as deep a er these conditions, wheel lwould not make vide an improved corn planter, and more especially to introduce a large number of improved Y features in the planter which al1 cooperate toof'pIanting, is often l connection between the tractor and taken at the Eire. l

gether to provide a machine that not only opervates eilciently and economically by way of planting corn, but also may be regulated and controlled by the operator as to many of its functions so as to obtain the optimum planting results.

Another object is to provide an improved planter in which lthe bulky check wire reel is removed from the side of the machine and placed directly in the middle of the machine, where it occupies a balanced position and where it may be readily actuated from the main source of mechanical power, which in the present instance is assumed tobe a farm tractor. 4This object is attained, in brief, by adapting the drive shaft of the fertilizer feed to be'broken at the proper position, and mounting the main support wheels of the planterpn a U-shaped shaft, all of which permits the placement of the YWire reel at the center of the machine where it may be actuated by a suitable sprocket and lchain arrangement connected directly to the tractor.` An improved form of friction clutch is employed in connection with the wire reel, by which thenecessary amount of slippage maybe introduced at the reel fin case the latter is bein The invention will be better understood when the drawings are studied in connection with the following description. ,Y

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a improvedlplanter, together with as much of the tractor as is necessary to show the mechanical Figure 211s a plan view loo Figure 3 is a, longitudinal sectional view of a -is employed in connection This view is a section'taken line 3 3 in Figure 6.

4l and 5 are transverse sectional views therfrlction clutch shown inA Figurel 5, lineal-l and 5 5. respectively, inthat figure.

Flsure 6 .is a' view looking toward the rear of the planter' when the check wire reel has been placed in position -and is in the act either of' tak- -incur or paying out the check wire.

Flgure'is avlewtakenalongthelinelQ-'l inFlgure, iookinginthedlrectionofthearrows, where mosto! the parts.

Cut SCIOSS g turned to take up the check perspective view of the entire and the planter.' l king down on top wmbeseenineie'vs- Y' it has been planted.

due to the great weight of the wire reel;

General description of planter framework As shown more particularly in Figure 1, the

-planter is adapted to be drawn over the field by any suitable form of tractor, generally designated I, and preferably provided with heavy traction tires 2, inside mud guards 3 and a rear axle differential. The planter is detachably connected to the tractor at the differential housingby means of a suitable form of rigid hitch.

The horizontal framework of the planter in general comprises a pair of spaced U-shaped structural members 5, I5, extending transversely of the machine, together with a` pair of heavy angle-iron pieces 1 which extend across the members 5 and 6 preferably at positions where the greatest load is applied, which would normally be directly over the ground wheels. There is also' a third angle iron element which extends between the structural members 5, 6 at a position which corresponds with the central longitudinal axis of the planter. The outermost ends of the members 5, 6 are additionally spanned by rigidy bars 8 which carry standard types of pulley holders and tripping catches which are employed `in connection with the check wire planting operation. Depending downwardly from the structural member 6 and at positions near the transverse angle irons Lthere is a pair of spaced brackets 9 which serve as hangers for a U-shaped shaft I0 which carries at its ends a pair of tapered ground wheels II. 'Ihese ground wheels serve to support the rear end of the planter and in addition serve to cover up the seed corn after In order to provide for unevenness of terrain, compression springs I2 may be-inserted between ledges I3 extending rearwardly of the frame and carried in cups I 4 which are secured by a yoke I5 to the U'shaped shaft I0. A rod I6, may be encased by each spring in order to maintain rigidity of the planter frame in the horizontal direction. Thus the frame is resiliently supported at the rear by the springs ing to rotate the shaft I0 until the wheels I I contact the ground. The front end of the rectangu-l lar framework is secured to the differential housing of the tractor preferably through a triangularly shaped hitch, and the main purpose of this hitch is to permit the frame of. the planter to be swingably elevated when necessary so as to remove the wheels II from the ground.

Check 'wire reel mechanism It has been stated hereinbefore that in the prior machinesit is customary to place the wire reel at one side of the machine. but such an arrangement necessarily adds to the cumbersomeness of the apparatus as a whole and in addition tends to introduce certain unbalancing forces, It will be understood that this wire reel is necessary to accommodate the so-called check wire by which uniform spacings are obtained between each charge of the seed which is deposited on the ground, in the manner to be described hereinafter. Immediately before the planting operation the checklwire is paid out from the reel and staked to the ground, and after the planting operation thewire is taken up on the reel pre- I2. these springs serv-f Aopposite sides of an paratory to being laid out for the next row of planting. When the wire is beingpaid out the diameter of the wire drum is continually getting smaller so that if the reel were power-driven at a constant speed andv the tractor were moved over the lground at a constant speed, regardless of the instantaneus size of the wire reel, a great deal of slack would be bound to be introduced at the beginning of the unwinding operation and this slackness would change to extreme tightness during the last few turns of thewinding reel. The opposite would be true during the winding or taking-up operation in that at the start of the winding operation considerable slackness in the wire may develop because the diameter of the wire drum at this time would be fairly small, but as the reel is being turned during the last part of the winding operation a severetightness or drag would be produced, due to the greatly increased size of the wire drum.

- In accordance with my invention, there is provided .a slack-accommodating mechanism by which, even though the reel is vpower-driven at a constant speed throughout the winding and unwinding operations, nevertheless a constant drag is exercised on the wire. The mechanism, by which thisis attained has been shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5. 'I'he reel itself may comprise a number of (six as illustrated) radially extendingribs which take a general Y-shape, and which are preferably formed of two outwardly bent bars 51 which are spaced'a short distance apart at their inner ends and bolted together as indicated at'58 (Figure 3). These bars are positioned on annular flange- 59 which forms part of a sleeve 60 having a flared portion at each end indicated at 6I. The sleeve 60 is provided with a central bore 62, this bore having a diameter sufliciently large to permit the sleeve to run freely on the shaft 63. This shaft has a general rectangular configuration, as shghvm/f/ in Figure 4, so that the bore/Z/imsomew at larger than the diagoaidimension of the shaft.

To the right/ofthe sleeve 50 there is a heavy circular plate 64 having an enlarged flanged portion 65 directly abutting the portion 5I of the sleeve '50. The plate/,5l is keyed or in any other manner /xedly secured to the square shaft 63, andabutting the outer face of the plate there is a compression spring 66 against which bears a relatively large wing nut 51. The latter is provided with a threaded bore which engages the threads 58 provided at the right-hand end of the shaft 63. This shaft may, if desired, be turned down to a circular configuration for the distance over which the wing nut 61 rides in order more readily to provide the necessary threads. By turning the nut 51 in such a way as to apply more compression to the spring 66, the abutting surfaces 6I, 54 are brought together with greater pressure and therefore with increased friction. There is a sleeve somewhat similar to the plate Bl but of greater length positioned in abutting relation to the left-hand surface of the centrally disposed sleeve 60.

The sleeve G9 has a fianged portion 10 of a diameter similar to the portion 6I of the central sleeve, and next 'to the sleeve 69 the shaft 63 carries a sprocket wheel 1I. The sleeve 5! and the sprocket 1I are iixedly secured to the shaft by .utilizing bores of rectangular conguration which snugly receive the square shaftv 63. The latter is detachably supported in position on the planter between a pair of brackets 12. which extend to the rear from any suitable' the check wire 80 may Vslotted yoke member 8|.

. 2,300,319. position on the framework, these brackets being It will be noted that the. inner end of each bracket is given an S-shape, and the ext eme end of each bracket ts ing formed in a plate 11 which is secured to the structural member 5. The plate terminates in a, downwardly extending angularly shaped portion 18 provided with a slot 19 through which pass toward or away from the reel.. The plate portion 18, therefore, serves as a guide for the wire as it is being taken up. At a position approximately intermediate its Within a slotted o n- 3 u'- end the fertilizer feed shaft 45 .with the spring pressed coupling formaking and breaking the mechanical connection between these shafts. Such couplingV comprises a sleeve 85 5 slidable on the'two shaft ends, which sleeve is'.

pressed fby the spring 86,'the latter being confined between the sleeve 85 and a pin 81 rigidly secured to the shaft 45. The sleeve 85 is limited in its movement under the l0 by a. U-shaped staple 85' acting as a stop. The

length each bracket rests ontop ofthe structural member 6, fand is held in position by a Thus the weight of the reel and wire wound' thereon tends to move each bracket 12 about the upper surface of the structural member 6 as a fulcrum, but is restrained in this movement due to the fact that the left-hand end (Figure 7) of the bracket abuts the under side of the structural member 5; The brackets 12 therefore can be readily placed in position, and. notwithstanding the instant detachment of these brackets the latter are rigidly held in positionduring the reeling and unreeling operations. For driving the wire reel a chain 82 is passed over the sprocket 1| (Figure 3), this chain engaging the sprocket 42 on the seed hopper shaft. AIt is apparent that a rotary movement is communicated to the wire reel through the bars 51 due to the friction between the anged portions 10, 6| and 6|, 65 because the sleeves 69 and 64 are, in effect, keyed to the v shaft.

Assume that the check wire is being paid out from the' reel and the sprocket 1| is being rotated at a predetermined rate. It is apparent that if this rate were an average speed the peripheral surface of' the reelwould be moved so vfast as to drop the wire at a faster rate than could be accommodated by the actual movement ofthe planter over the ground. It is therefore necessary at this time to decrease the rotary movement of the reel, and-this may be readily done by turning the nut 61 inA such a direction as to reduce the friction between the .flanged surfaces 10, 8| and 8|, 65, thereby permitting acertain amount of slippage to be introduced-atthe sleeve 60 which carries the reel. Again, when the end of the ,paying operation is approached it is entirely possible that the. planter is traveling ata faster speed than thatat wound from the reel. -In this case tension may be introduced into therwire sufficient to break the wire. Accordingly, at'this time ltv may be 4desirable to rotate the nut 61 in such a directioni as to increase the friction between the driving surface 10 'and the .driven surface 6|. Aalso between the driving surface 85 and the drivensurwhere the wire is either being paid outor taken up. Fig. 8 shows a section of the drive shaft.

which the wire is untwo shafts are shown coupled together in Fig. 8,-

and may be uncoupled by sliding the sleeve 85 to the right until 'the sleeve passes beyond the end of the shaft thus uncoupling the shafts from-each other. The lower end of the shaft '45 is connected by a swivel 46 to the shaft 88 which operates the fertilizer hopper.

It is apparent that after the wire has been flaid in its proper position on the' ground and 20 staked down, the next step is to run the planter over its proper course along the field simultaneously to plant and fertilize the corn kernels.

Thus itis necessarythat the fertilizer feed shaft 45 b e restored to its proper position in order to actuate the fertilizer hoppers. 'Ihe reel is thenremoved from its position by detaching the brackets 12 from the plate 11, after which the shaft 45 may be rotated at the swivel 46 and connected to the remaining portion of 'the shaft by meansv of the spring-pressed coupling shown in Figure 8, and in the manner described'hereinbefore. The shaft 45 is, of course, again .broken at the swivel in order to reinsert the .winding reel at the conclusion of a row-planting operation andA in order to re-lay the check wire preparatory to a new planting operation. It will be noted that when the check wire-reel is in the position shown in Figure 6 the reel issymmetrically positioned with respect to the ground wheels I so that. the weight of the reel and the contained check wire is carried equally by each wheel.` Moreover, the central position of the reel'assists the operator in observing the manner in which the wire is either being laid down on the ground orbeing taken v 45 up olf the ground, so' that if necessary the tractor may be instantly stopped when occasion requires. The central disposition of the reel lends increased compactness to the corn planter.

It will be understoodthat I desire to compre- 5 hend within my invention such modifications as come within the scope of the claims and the invention.

. Having thus fully described I claim as Patent,.is:

l. A planterfcomprising a pair of seed hoppersA and a -pair of fertilizer hoppers, a power shaft connected between said fertilizer hoppers for actuating the same, and a. check wire reel posi- 00 tioned between said fertilizer hoppers for controlling the rate of feed of the seed hoppers, said4 shaft being temporarily broken to accommodate said reel. 1

2. A planter comprising a pair of seed-feeding o5 hoppers and a pair of fertilizer-feeding hoppers,

a power shaft connected between said fertilizer hoppers for actuating the same, and a check wire `ree1 positioned between said fertilizer hoppers, said shaft being temporarily broken to accom- 7 modate said reel and said hoppers being can'ied on framework which is mounted on a pair of ground wheels, said'reel beingpositioned between two frame members which are detachably mounted on the framework of the planter.

3. A 'planter mounted on a frame and'adapted stress of the spring my invention, what new and desire to secure by Letters to be drawn by a power driven vehicle, said frame being mounted at one end on the vehicle and at the other end being carried on wheels, a U- shaped shaft for said wheels, said planter comprising a pair of seed hoppers and a pair of fertilizer hoppers, a 'power shaft connected between said fertilizer hoppers for actuating the same, and a check wire reel positioned between said fertilizer hoppers and rotatably mounted between the legs of the U-shaped shaft, said power shaft being temporarily broken to accommodate said reel. A

4 A planter mounted on a frame and adapted to be drawn by a power driven vehicle, said frame actuating the same and a check wire reel positioned between said fertilizer hoppers and between two frame members which are detachably mounted on the framework of the planter, said reel being also rotatably mounted between the legs of the U-shaped shaft, said power shaft being temporarily broken to accommodate said reel.

5. A planter comprising a pair of seed hoppers and a pair of fertilizer hoppers, a power shaft connected between said fertilizer hoppers for actuating the same, a check Wirel reel positioned l between said fertilizer hoppers for controlling the rate of feed of the seed hoppers, a friction drive for said reel,v means for controlling the amount of friction drive at the reel in order to regulate the drag and slack on the check wire depending on whether the wire is taken. up or paid out, said friction drive comprising a power driven shaft and a pair of spaced flanged members secured to the driven shaft, a hub carrying said reel and positioned between said members, said hub being loosely mounted on the driven shaft, said power shaft being temporarily broken to accommodate said reel, vand means including a spring for pressing the flanged members against said` hub to transmit rotary power thereto from the driven shaft.

ERNST E. ENGLUND. 

